Angie Papple Johnston - 2022 / 2023 ASVAB For Dummies

You can also find websites that offer lists of words if you spend a few minutes surfing. Try using search phrases such as “vocabulary words” and “SAT words.” Here are a few resources:

Vocabulary.com: This site ( www.vocabulary.com ) offers thousands of vocabulary words and their definitions, as well as interactive, adaptive games to help you learn.

Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com: Dictionary.com ( www.dictionary.com ) includes a great online dictionary and word of the day. The related site Thesaurus.com ( www.thesaurus.com ), which links back to the dictionary, gives you the same word of the day as well as lists of synonyms and antonyms.

Merriam-Webster online: Merriam-Webster online ( www.merriam-webster.com ) is another useful site with a free online dictionary, thesaurus, and word of the day.

A ton of books exist to help build your vocabulary. Try Vocabulary For Dummies by Laurie E. Rozakis or SAT Vocabulary For Dummies by Suzee Vlk, both published by Wiley. These books are great resources designed to help you improve your word-knowledge skills.

My grandma always kept a book of crossword puzzles in the center of her kitchen table — and she always kept an ink pen inside to complete the puzzles. (You know somebody’s good if she’s doing crossword puzzles in ink!) So, what was her secret? She’d been doing crosswords since the 1940s, long before you could play word games on a smartphone.

One of the great things about crossword puzzles (other than fun) is that you can find them at all levels of difficulty. Start with one that has a difficulty consistent with your word-knowledge ability and then work your way up to more difficult puzzles. Before you know it, you’ll be a lean, mean word machine and have loads of fun in the process. Dozens of free crossword apps are available for phones, so you don’t even need to buy a book in the checkout lane at the supermarket.

Sometimes you actually know a word because you’ve heard it in conversation, but you don’t recognize it when you see it written down. For instance, a student who’d heard the word placebo (pronounced “plah- see -bow”) knew that it meant an inactive substance, like a sugar pill. But when she came across it in writing, she didn’t recognize it. She thought it was a word pronounced “plah- chee -bow,” which she’d never heard before.

When you see a word on the ASVAB that you don’t recognize, try pronouncing it (not out loud, please) a couple of different ways. The following pronunciation rules can help you out:

Sometimes letters are silent, like the b in subtle or the k in knight. A letter at the end of a word may be silent, especially if the word is French; for instance, coup is pronounced coo.

Some sounds have unusual pronunciations in certain contexts. Think of the first l in colonel, which is pronounced like kernel.

The letter c can sound like s (lice) or k (despicable) .

The letter i after a t can form a sound like she. Think of the word initiate.

The letter x at the beginning of a word is generally pronounced like z (xylophone).

A vowel at the end of a word can change the pronunciation of letters in the word. The word wag has a different g sound than the word wage.

When several vowels are right next to each other, they can be pronounced many different ways (consider boo, boa, and bout ). Try a couple of different possibilities. For instance, if you see the word feint, you may think that it should be pronounced feent or fiynt, but it in fact sounds like faint. It means fake or pretend.

In the stem of each of the following Word Knowledge practice questions, you see an underlined word. Select the choice that best answers the question in relation to the underlined word.

Pay attention to the wording of each question. Some questions ask you to select the choice closest in meaning to the underlined word. Some questions may ask you to select the word most opposite in meaning. On other questions, you see the underlined word used in a sentence. In that case, your task is to select the choice most similar in meaning to the underlined word as it is used in the context of the sentence.

1. Acclaim most nearly means

(A) enthusiastic approval.

(B) religion.

(C) help.

(D) program.

2. The college student met with the bursar to discuss tuition payment options.

(A) planner

(B) treasurer

(C) politician

(D) ghost

3. Estrange most nearly means

(A) sharp.

(B) small.

(C) alienate.

(D) shiny.

4. Momentous most nearly means

(A) significant.

(B) small.

(C) reality.

(D) postpone.

5. The mother chastised her child.

(A) comforted

(B) carried

(C) lectured

(D) supervised

6. Obtrude most nearly means

(A) condition.

(B) absorb.

(C) prepare.

(D) impose.

7. We often wondered why Daniel lived in such an opulent apartment.

(A) run-down

(B) lavish

(C) far away

(D) hideous

8. Now that you’ve read through it once, it’s time to recapitulate the Word Knowledge chapter.

(A) discuss

(B) summarize

(C) test

(D) reread

9. Clemency most nearly means

(A) mercy.

(B) force.

(C) imprisonment.

(D) compliment.

10. This year the Paris fashion industry has decided to eschew short skirts and high heels.

(A) favor

(B) manufacture

(C) shun

(D) sell

11. Pollute most nearly means

(A) eliminate.

(B) contaminate.

(C) clean.

(D) confuse.

12. Latent most nearly means

(A) hidden.

(B) dull.

(C) pretentious.

(D) active.

13. Paul sent all of his friends a salutary message on the Internet.

(A) beneficial

(B) profane

(C) funny

(D) interesting

14. The word most opposite in meaning to reflect is

(A) ponder.

(B) consider.

(C) ignore.

(D) speculate.

15. The word most opposite in meaning to blame is

(A) attribute.

(B) reprove.

(C) muster.

(D) exalt.

16. Amenable most nearly means

(A) amended.

(B) prepared.

(C) guided.

(D) cooperative.

17. Calamity most nearly means

(A) desert.

(B) disaster.

(C) remorse.

(D) overeating.

18. The word most opposite in meaning to forthright is

(A) honest.

(B) polite.

(C) blunt.

(D) outspoken.

19. The word most opposite in meaning to profound is

(A) thorough.

(B) mild.

(C) absolute.

(D) intense.

20. The attendant charged Karen a nominal fee to park in the crowded lot.

(A) expensive

(B) insignificant

(C) large

(D) crazy

21. The loving couple celebrated their fidelity over the years on their anniversary.

(A) complications

(B) faithfulness

(C) regrets

(D) treachery

22. The Army commander decided to avert trouble by heading back to headquarters.